Stat Chat: Crash the Glass

After a tough game in Chicago against Kansas, Duke had easier competition come to Durham for the Preseason NIT opening rounds. While the offense continues to shine, the team's athletic ability has not translated to success on the boards.

The achilles heal of this team has been rebounding. The Blue Devils have been out-rebounded 173-to-168 this season, and while that includes a top-5 matchup against the Jayhawks, the quality of competition played thus far has not been terrific. Duke has been out-rebounded in three of its five games played, including Duke's Preseason NIT second round opponent, East Carolina. The Pirates lost by single digits and had a real chance of breaking Duke's now-106 game non-conference home winning streak.

Something the Blue Devils have done well this season is picking up the pace early. Duke has scored an average of 48.8 points per game in he first half, scoring at least 42 points in each game. However, it appears as though the same quickness negatively correlates with rebounding the basketball. Last season, the Blue Devils averaged 33.5 rebounds per game, while the opposition averaged 33.7. This season there has been no significant change to the overall totals, but look at the offensive rebounding differential. Opponents averaged 11.5 offensive rebounds per game last season. This season? A whopping 12.8. It's worth noting, again, that the competition up to this point in the season does not equal that of the 2012-13 season yet, which makes Duke's rebounding numbers startling.

When teams are able to rebound on the offensive glass, it opens the door for second chance point opportunities. This statistic most strongly indicates how crucial the rebounding effort from East Carolina was to its success against the Blue Devils. While the Pirates only had three more offensive rebounds, they scored 16 second chance points, compared to Duke's three points scored. On the season, the Blue Devils are allowing 11.6 second chance points per game, with opponents defeating Duke 58-to-40 in that particular category.

A decision that teams will have to make in the future will be to either crash the offensive glass or get back on defense. With the game moving more towards up-tempo offenses, the easy answer may be the latter, but as we've seen thus far, trying to get out in transition may hurt teams more than it helps them. Duke's ability to run up and down the floor in the fast break will help relieve some of the pressure of rebounding, but in order to compete with the big boys, it is imperative the team starts to improve.